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We have summarised key aspects regarding manpower planning, such as what to do in case of approved FWA applications, how to manage two applications from the same department, and more.
- Story by Colette Wong and Aditi Sharma Kalra
The latest set of guidelines to support employers and employees alike on flexible work arrangements (FWAs) in Malaysia have been launched by the Government and the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA) on 5 December 2024, officiated by Steven Sim Chee Keong. Minister of Human Resources (pictured above, third from left).
These arrangements (also known as Aturan Kerja Fleksibel or AKF) are to be carried out in line with the amendments made to the Employment Act 1955 in 2022, under sections 60P and 60Q, which grant employees the right to request FWA, while looking to provide employers a clear framework to decide if such arrangements can be done reasonably.
Below, we have summarised some of the key aspects of the FWA guidelines for the purpose for manpower planning.
According to Section 60P (1), an employee may apply to the employer for flexible working arrangements on the following parameters:
- Flexible working hours
- Flexible working days
- Flexible place of work
- Any combination of the above
If there is a collective agreement, any application made by the employee under subsection (1) shall be in accordance with the terms and conditions in the collective agreement.
Essentially, implementing AKF allows an employee to apply to his employer to change the existing work arrangements that have been agreed either in their service contract or collective agreement.
According to Section 60Q (1), the following processes are to be followed:
- Employees can make an application for flexible working arrangements under section 60P in writing and in a format determined by the Director General.
- After an application is made, the employer shall, within 60 days from the date the application is received, approve or reject the application.
- The employer shall notify the employee in writing of the approval or rejection of the application, and in the case of rejection, the employer shall state the reasons for the rejection.
To better understand how each type of arrangement works, here is what the guidelines suggest:
1. Flexible working hours
Employees are given the flexibility to choose their working hours or rest hours, subject to the number of working hours per day or week that has been set by the employer. The following are some examples:
a) Employees are allowed to go to work between 7.00am and 10.00am and return between 3.30pm and 6.30pm, but must work 7.5 hours a day.
b) Employees are allowed to go to work as early as 7.30am and leave as late as 9.00pm but must complete 45 hours of work per week.
c) Employees can choose flexible break times between 30 minutes and 1 hour. Employees who choose a short break of, say, 30 minutes, can be allowed to go home 30 minutes earlier.
However, in implementing flexible working hours, employers are not allowed to:
- Require employees to work more than five consecutive hours without a break period of not less than 30 minutes;
- Require employees to work more than 45 hours a week. For shift workers, the average working hours for a period of three weeks cannot exceed 45 hours a week except with the permission of the Director General;
- Require the employee to work more than 12 consecutive hours except in the following circumstances:
- (a) accident, actual or threatened, in or in connection with his workplace;
- (b) work, the implementation of which is necessary for community life;
- (c) work necessary for the defense or security of Malaysia;
- (d) immediate work to be done on machinery or plant;
- (e) a work interruption that cannot possibly be resolved; or
- (f) work that must be done by the employee in any enterprise activity that is necessary for the Malaysian economy or any service.
- Set normal working hours per day of more than eight hours per day; or more than nine hours a day if the working hours are less than eight hours a day on any day of the week except with the permission of the Director General.
2. Flexible working days
Employees are given the flexibility to reduce their number of working days in a week, subject to the number of working hours per day or a work week that has been set by the employer. Examples are
a) Where the original working hours are Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm and Saturday from 8.00 am to 1.00 pm, employers and employees may agree to shorten the working day from six days a week to five days a week by extending the daily working hours from eight hours a day to nine hours a day.
b) Where the original work week is six days a week (Monday-Saturday), employers may allow employees to choose any working day of the week provided they comply with the total weekly working hours of 45 hours. In implementing flexible working days, employers are not allowed to require employees to work without giving at least one rest day in a week except with the permission of the Director General.
3. Flexible place of work
Employees are allowed to work from home or other locations, without having to attend the office, or only have to attend on certain days set by the employer.
a) An employer can allow an employee the flexibility to work from home from Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.
b) An employer can allow an employee to work from home for a month to take care of a child who needs to be quarantined due to an infectious disease (example: influenza, measles and hand, foot and mouth disease)
c) An employer may allow a hybrid work arrangement according to the 3+2 model, which is three days work in the office and two days of work-from-home.
4. Any combination of the above
Employers may allow a combination of any work arrangements as above, as long as it suitable to their operation.
Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 An employer allows an employee to work from home where the employee is free to choose any working day of the week subject to a 45 hour work week
a) An employer may allows an employee to work from home where the employee is required to work 7.5 hours a day with flexible working hours from 6.00 am to 12.00 pm.
b) The employer may allow the employee to work from home from Monday to Friday subject to a working period of 45 hours per week.
c) An employer could allow an employee to work from home, whereby the employee is free to choose any working day of the week, subject to a 45 hour work week
Suitable jobs for implementing FWAs
The guidelines have made it clear that not all types of jobs can practice FWAs.
Flexible workplaces can only be implemented for jobs that do not require the physical presence of employees full-time at the workplace, for example graphic designers, customer service officers (call centers), plan drafters and computer programmers.
The types of jobs that require full-time presence at the workplace are not suitable for practicing FWA, such as production operators, security guards, cleaning and washing workers, and bus drivers.
Methods of implementation of AKF/FWAs
Permanent: Implementation of AKF on a regular basis means that work arrangements are implemented without being subject to a specific period. For example, if previously employees were required to work in the office from 8.00 am to 4.30 pm; through AKF, employers can allow employees to work from home permanently.
Periodic: Implementation of AKF on a periodic basis means that the arrangements are implemented by setting the start date and the end date. For example, an employee who has applied for AKF to take care of his mother who broke her leg due to a road accident may be allowed to work from home for two months.
Rotational: Implementation of AKF in rotation means that the arrangements are implemented alternately between employees. For example, employers could receive AKF applications from employees in the Administration department to work hybrid. The employer may allow the employees to work hybrid (two days in the office and three days work from home) according to a shift, whereby the supervisor will required to ensure that there is at least one employee who is in the office on each working day.
Employers' responsibilities once FWA application has been approved
In cases where the employer has agreed for an employee to work flexibly, the following points can be established by the employer:
- Work monitoring mechanisms, for example, employers can require employees who are allowed to work from home to submit reports as determined by the employer.
- Create a provision that allows employers to revoke AKF approval if there is a business need or the implementation of AKF has affected efficiency, productivity and teamwork.
- Provision of new benefits following the implementation of AKF such as internet allowance, utility allowance, laptop and telephone facilities.
However, in implementing AKF approval, employers are not allowed to amend the following matters:
- The conditions that deny the employee's rights provided for in Part XII of Act 265, namely rest days, work pay on rest days, working hours, overtime pay, days off, work pay on days off, annual leave, sick leave and holidays paternity.
- Conditions that conflict with the terms and conditions contained in the collective agreement. For example, the collective agreement may stipulate that employees are entitled to a contractual bonus of two months' salary, but the employer stipulates that employees who are given AKF are not eligible to receive contractual bonus payments.
- The benefits contained in the existing service contract cannot be reduced or abolished. For example, before the implementation of AKF, employees received a basic salary of RM3,500 per month but through the implementation of AKF, i.e. working from home, employers reduced the employee's salary to RM3,000 per month.
- However, employers and employees can renegotiate to reduce or abolish existing benefits that are irrelevant when employees are given AKF such as parking allowance, transport allowance and petrol allowance.
- A higher work target than before the implementation of AKF. For example, before the implementation of AKF, employees were required to audit 10 employer client accounts per month but through the implementation of AKF, the employer stipulated that employees were required to audit 15 employer client accounts per month.
- However, the setting of work targets can be amended if the employee agrees or the amendment involves all employees and not just employees who are given AKF.
- Anything else that is against the labour law.
Application procedure for employees who want to avail FWAs
Employees must submit a written application to their employer.
Applications for flexible working arrangements must state the following:
- Type of flexibility applied for.
- Flexible working hours - the start and end of work (existing) and the requested working hours; and break time (available) and requested break time.
- Flexible working days- Working days (available) and requested working days.
- Flexible workplace- Workplace (existing) and workplace applied for.
- Reasons or supporting evidence for the application, if any, such as a doctor's certificate.
Applications can be submitted in formats defined by employers.
For more clarifications about the implementation of FWAs in Malaysia, please view the guide on the KESUMA website.
READ MORE: How to implement flexible work arrangements: 5 useful tips to get started
Lead image / TalentCorp
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